


I Missed You

by chvotic



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: 2 year time jump, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Forgiveness, Hurt/Comfort, Infinity War Doesn't Exist, One Shot, Out of Character, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Precious Peter Parker, Sad, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark-centric, probably, we don't need that torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 00:55:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15231831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chvotic/pseuds/chvotic
Summary: He had been so sure after he was left alone in Siberia that he would never want to see the stupid face of Steve Rogers ever again. He was so sure he would never see him again.But here he was, staring at the contact as if it were about to jump out and bite him.What was he even planning to say?Tony didn't need help. He didn't need Steve here, they were doing just fine.If this were true, why was he holding that fucking flip phone?Or, in which, Tony and Steve just need to make up already.





	I Missed You

**Author's Note:**

> okay i'm kind of nervous about posting this but here we go
> 
> idk if i wrote this as a brotp or otp so read this however you please
> 
> i understand that tony may be a little out of character but can we please just ignore that?
> 
> i also couldn't help but add a little tony and peter bc i need that after the mess called infinity war... lol sorry  
> i also had a lot of trouble writing about the compound & friday's interactions, which i have always found hard to write. 
> 
> there also may be some mistakes, so sorry about that 
> 
> anyways, i hope you enjoy this one shot?

Tony didn't know what he had been thinking when he took out that outdated, ugly flip phone from his desk drawer. He didn't know what he had been thinking when he turned it on, eyes resting on that name that had been haunting him for the last two years. The only contact on the phone.

Steve Rogers.

He stared at it for a good ten minutes, wondering why exactly he had brought the thing out. It was as if his body was working on autopilot, his mind somewhere else as his hands fiddled with the phone. He hadn't looked at the thing for two years, and he had been so sure that he was never going to press that call button. He had been so sure after he was left alone in Siberia that he would never want to see the stupid face of Steve Rogers ever again. He was so sure he would never see him again.

But here he was, staring at the contact as if it were about to jump out and bite him.

What was he even planning to say?

Tony didn't need help. He didn't need Steve here, they were doing just fine. 

If this were true, why was he holding that fucking flip phone?

"What are you doing?" Tony almost fell out of his desk chair, a shocked gasp leaving his mouth as Rhodey's voice filled the room. He jumped so hard the phone dropped out of his hand and landed on the floor, flipping a few times before falling face down. Tony looked up to meet Rhodey's eyes, who was staring down at him quizzically. "Was that the phone Rogers gave you?"

Tony didn't react, eyes moving to the phone on the ground. Slowly, he leant down to pick it up, turning it over in his hands so he could see the screen again. Steve Rogers' name was still on the screen, staring up at him as if it were torturing him. It was as if the contact was just screaming at him to call him, to get Steve to come back to the compound for no reason whatsoever.

But they weren't in trouble. Tony didn't need to bring him back here, it would just cause more problems between them. Maybe another civil war if they weren't careful.

"Tony." Rhodey's voice broke him out of his daze yet again, Tony's eyes tearing away from the phone's screen to look up at his best friend. "Are you going to call Steve?"

Tony didn't react for a few seconds, looking down at the phone then back up at Rhodey.

"I don't know." Tony whispered, setting the phone down on the desk before he could drop it again. "I don't know what I'm doing, Rhodey."

Rhodey didn't answer, the two of them settling into an awkward silence as the flip phone sat on the desk as if it were a bomb. Tony's eyes had drifted back to the device, an uneasy feeling settling in the pit of his stomach as he tried to decide what he was going to do. Was he going to call Steve, or was he going to put the phone back in his desk and forget about it?

He didn't want to do either.

"You miss him, don't you?" Rhodey broke the silence, a comforting hand settling on Tony's shoulder. Tony sighed, rubbing a hand dow his face as he sighed deeply. "You want to call him but not because we need help, because you miss him."

"We shouldn't have fought." Tony whispered, feeling the weight of he and Steve's fight heavy on his shoulders. It was both of their fault's, it shouldn't have happened. They both did things they regret, well, Tony was hoping Steve regretted it. Because he sure as hell did. "It was stupid."

"It's been two years, Tones." Rhodey said, his voice lower. "Things would have calmed down a little by now. If you want to call him, call him. Who am I to stop you?"

"Exactly. It's been two years." Tony concluded, reaching out for the phone. "It was a stupid idea anyways. There's no point." He snapped the thing shut, a sudden anger taking over his body as he yanked that draw open, tossing the phone inside like it was merely a piece of trash. 

"You should call him." Rhodey pat his shoulder, before he was leaving the room. Tony sat there for another good twenty minutes lost in thought as he stared into space. He knew his hand was itching towards the draw again, fingers clasping around the handle as he pulled it open. His head reached inside, grabbing the flip phone and pulled it back out of the draw.

He pulled it into his eyesight, pulling the screen back up so he could see Steve's contact yet again.

After another five minutes of staring, he did it.

"Ah, fuck it." Tony snapped to himself, pressing the call button and pulled the thing to his ear. He listened to the rings, his heart rate picking up it's pace as he realised what exactly he was doing. He almost bailed out of it when he thought of the things Steve could say, if even picked up that is. Maybe the offer was gone, maybe Steve wasn't there anymore. Maybe he had forgotten.

When the ringing stopped, Tony had thought the call got ignored. 

"Tony?"

Tony almost passed out. Steve's voice sounded so close, so familiar. His stomach turned to jelly, his breathing picking up as he grasped onto Steve's voice for the first time in over two years.

"Tony? Are you there?" Steve said again, his voice laced with that stupid concerned tone.

"Steve." Tony breathed, his breathing becoming heavy as all he received was silence. Now, that he was talking to him, Tony had no idea what to say. "I- we- I need you."

That was not what Tony had wanted to say at all. But now it was out there, and Tony suddenly felt like he was talking to a brick wall. Once again, all he received was silence, though he could hear Steve's breathing on the other end. Tony was about to hang up, but when Steve's voice filtered through the shitty flip phone, Tony's stomach did somersaults.

"You need me?" Steve had questioned, but there was no malice that should have been in his tone. "Has something happened?"

Tony chewed his bottom lip, debating with what he was going to say. "Um- well, uh."

"Where are you?" Steve ignored his mumbling, before a different voice sounded from somewhere in the background.

"Who is it, Steve?" Tony almost choked on his spit. Was that Natasha?

Tony didn't fail to miss Steve's reply, even if the other had taken the phone away from their ear. "It's Tony."

"Are you serious?" Was Nat's reply, though she didn't sound angry. "What's happened? Does he need our help?"

"I don't know." Steve sounded unsure, and Tony immediately knew he fucked up. He almost hung up for a second time, absentmindedly ripping a probably important piece of paper on his desk as Steve conversed with Natasha. "He sounds worried, though."

Then Steve was speaking to him directly. "Where are you?"

"The compound..." Tony trailed, before he immediately knew how badly he'd fucked up. "You know what? I'm sorry, I don't know what I'm doing. I must be- I must be drunk or something, there's nothing wrong. I gotta- I gotta go. Bye Steve."

"Tony-" Tony took the thing away from his ear, slamming the thing closed and effectively ending the call. Instead of placing the flip phone back inside of it's drawer, he threw it across the room in a sudden anger he wasn't even prepared for. It hit the wall with a crack, the crappy phone smashing into several pieces. There goes his only connection with Steve he had left.

He leant both elbows on the desk, his breaths becoming shorter. There was no way he was going to have a panic attack right there. No way.

But his lungs didn't seem to want to listen to him.

Rhodey must have heard his commotion, because before Tony could even comprehend what was happening, his friend was in the room and was talking to him. "Tony, I need you to breath. You're having a panic attack, breathe."

"I screwed it up, Rhodey." Tony snapped, knowing that there was no way he was going to mend things with Steve Rogers anymore. He'd messed up his last chance. "Now if we actually need his help, we won't be able to ask him because I broke the fucking phone!"

Tony couldn't tell if he was angry or sad anymore, so instead, he buried his face in in his hands and groaned. He forced his breathing to calm down so he didn't faint, hating the fact that he had just done that. That he had just called Steve Rogers for no reason other to hear his voice.

Gee, Tony was really fucked up.

He didn't sleep that night.

Or the night after.

Or the night after that.

On the fourth night, Tony had been improving Peter's Spider Suit when the alarms were tripped. The kid next to him quite literally fell out of his chair, his head smacking right into Tony's shoulder as they both collectively jumped at the sound. Tony immediately stood, apologising quickly to Peter as he was rubbing his forehead from the impact.

Peter barely even acknowledged him, the blaring sirens hurting both of their ears as red lights began to flash around the lab. "Fri, what's going on?"

"There believes to be intruders, sir." F.R.I.D.A.Y. replied, her voice monotone as always. Peter was clinging onto Tony's arm as the AI spoke to them, his suit forgotten on the workbench. "Do you know who it is?"

"No, sir, I am unable to see their faces at the moment, therefore I cannot identify them. There are three people currently in the garage. Two men and one women, though they do not seem to have any weapons." F.R.I.D.A.Y. continued, Peter's hold on his arm only intensifying. This would be something Tony would tease him about later, but right now, there was bigger problems at hand.

"Thanks, Fri." Tony said, confusion and anger mixing into one as he wondered who the hell had the audacity to break into the Avengers compound of all places. How had they even managed to get in? 

"Do you want me to put on my suit, Mr. Stark? I can fight them-"

"Yeah, no." Tony cut the kid off, moving and dragging Peter along with him. "I'm going to have F.R.I.D.A.Y. get an identity as soon as she can. There's no need for fighting. Yet."

"Okay." Peter whispered, before Tony continued to move them out of the lab. "How did they even break in? I thought this place was unbreakable-"

"It is, kid, that's what gets me." Tony was grouchy, he hadn't slept a wink for three days, coffee being the only thing keeping him going. He knew it was unhealthy, he knew he was probably going to keel over at any moment. He hoped his body would wait until after this was over and Peter was out of sight, because he could not let the kid see him passing out. He'd already asked if Tony was sleeping, and he should have known Peter was smart enough to notice. "Whoever's managed to get in must be pretty damn smart."

"What if it's someone you know?" Peter asked, his voice low as Tony pulled him into the main room in the compound, which was probably the worst place to go. 

"What?" Tony wasn't really listening, mostly concentrating of getting Peter somewhere safer than the fucking common room. "Fri, any identities yet?"

"Sir, I am not sure that you are going to like this." F.R.I.D.A.Y spoke up, her tone moving into something that could only be taken as concern. "It appears that young Peter is right. The trespassers have moved into the lifts, I have identities for each person."

"How did they get into the lifts?" Tony snapped at his AI, astonished that the AI he had created had let trespassers into their fucking lifts. "Fri, why did you let them into the lift? Who are they?"

"Sam Wilson, Natasha Romanoff and Steve Rogers." Tony stopped so fast Peter knocked into him, his head once again clashing with Tony's shoulder. Tony muttered another sorry, moving his arm from Peter's grip and putting it around the kid's shoulders instead. "They are almost at your floor, boss."

"Wait- aren't they-" Peter started, his voice shaking with nerves or excitement, Peter couldn't tell. "Did F.R.I.D.A.Y just say-"

"F.R.I.D.A.Y. are you completely sure?" Tony snapped, cutting Peter off as he demanded a reply from his AI. There was no way this was happening. Steve was meant to ignore his call, he wasn't meant to come. Oh, god.

"I am sorry, Boss, but it is indeed true." Right after she spoke, the lift dinged.

"Oh my god- Captain America is here- wait, Mr. Stark, I don't have my mask!" Peter seemed to be panicking, too, for a reason Tony was completely aware of. He didn't have his mask, Captain America, Black Widow and the Falcon were about to walk into the room. Peter had fought alongside Tony, but not as Peter Parker. As Spider-Man.

Tony pushed Peter behind him, standing in front of him in hopes that the trespassers- his old friend's wouldn't see him. He knew it was a loose string, they were going to see Peter at some point, but he at least wanted to give the kid a little bit of reassurance.

Peter gripped onto the back of his hoodie, Tony's body freezing up as the life doors opened completely opposite them.

This was when James Rhodes clambered into the room, eyes wide as he looked in the direction of the lifts also.

The first person Tony saw was Natasha. Tony barely had time to think about the fact that she was now a blonde, his eyes moving to Sam who looked relatively the same to when Tony had last seen him. 

And that's when he saw him.

Steve, standing behind the two, staring directly at him. He had grown his hair out, his once clean-shaven face now covered with a beard. Tony's mouth was hanging open, many unanswered questions hanging in the air as the three of them moved out of the lift and in Tony's direction. Peter's breath hitched behind him, and Tony knew for a fact that the kid was probably peaking around him to see what was happening.

"What are you three doing here?" Rhodey spoke up, Tony unable to tear his eyes away from Steve, who was staring right back at him.

"Stark called." Sam almost snapped, though Tony couldn't tell if the male was angry or not.

"Tony." Steve spoke up next, moving closer and closer as the seconds ticked by. Tony's muscles got tenser as the man approached him, his old friend staring at him with that same look he always used to have on his face. 

"Steve." Tony merely whispered, completely lost for words. That was new.

They stood there, staring at each other. It felt like eternity before Steve spoke again, his eyes warm and forgiving. He shouldn't be looking like that.

"Maybe we should... go outside?" Steve asked, as if he were testing the waters. Tony just nodded once, before turning to Peter, who had given up on hiding and was staring at the three (ex?) Avengers in awe.

"Stay with Rhodey, yeah?" He said lowly, and Peter just nodded. The kid turned around, moving to stand next to Rhodey with a cautious gaze on his face, as if he too were feeling the awkwardness in the room. Rhodey, on the other hand, was hugging Sam and Natasha. 

Steve had disappeared from his view, Tony having to turn his head to see him standing by the door that led to the small balcony Tony and Natasha had spoken on that two years ago. Where Tony had let his ego get in the way...

He sighed, wiping a hand down his face as he went and stood by the ledge, staring out in front of him. He gripped onto the bar, wondering what exactly was going to go down as Steve stood next to him.

"Why did you call?" Steve asked, though he didn't sound angry. 

"I don't know, Rogers." Tony grumbled, using his frustration as deflection.

"Why did you hang up?" Steve continued, his voice wavering a little.

"I panicked." Tony mumbled, gripping onto the bar tighter. "Sorry, I broke the phone."

"You said you needed me." Steve seemed to be wondering aloud, and Tony could feel his gaze burning into the side of his head. Tony could feel the unfamiliar stinging in the corner of his eyes, wanting to smack himself in the face for getting emotional. Why was he even getting emotional over this? Steve had left him in Siberia, he had destroyed his suit. He had left him behind, he hadn't told him about his parents.

Tony hated him. He should still hate him for not telling him about his parents, he should be chewing Steve out for not letting him know how his parents had died. He should hate him for leaving him behind in Siberia, for stabbing his chest plate with his shield.

Tony should hate him. He should be punching him.

But he found that he'd given up on hating Steve months ago, and now he was just missing his friend.

Wow.

"Tony?" Steve snapped him out of his daze, making Tony jump slightly.

"I should hate you." Tony whispered, not meeting his old friend's gaze as he looked out into the open. "I should hate you for leaving me there. But you know what? Somehow, I don't."

"You should hate me." Steve replied, sparking Tony's interest. "I'm sorry."

"I should hate you for not telling me about my parents." Tony continued, sighing. "But I know I would have done the same no matter who it was."

"I'm sorry, Tony." Steve whispered, and Tony could feel that stinging in his eyes once again. "You know, the last two years I've been beating myself up about... everything. I know it was from mistakes on both of our parts, but I still feel responsible, y'know?"

"I'm sorry." Tony whispered this time, still not having the courage to look at Steve in the eye just yet. "I shouldn't have hit you first."

"I deserved it." 

"Steve..." Tony trailed off, not even knowing what he was about to say. "I called... I called because- well, I don't know why I called." He knew why he called.

"I'm glad you did."

Tony finally looked at the super soldier, the stinging in his eyes returning for the third consecutive time. He felt shock wash over him when he saw the tears on Steve's cheeks, the man now looking away from him.

"I guess.. I guess I missed you." Tony mumbled, looking away from the tear stained Captain America. He turned his head just as Steve looked at him, moving to hold his left arm as he looked out at the scenery in front of them. It was when he felt the hand on his upper arm when he finally turned to look at him.

"I missed you." Steve repeated his words, sighing slightly. "I'm sorry... about everything."

"Me too." 

They stared at each other for who knows how long, the silence less awkward than it had been a few seconds beforehand. Tony hadn't realised when Steve had started moving forwards, an arm wrapping around his shoulders as he did so. Tony wanted to move, he wanted to get out of there before things go back to the ruins they once were. He couldn't deal with hugs, especially from people like Steve Rogers.

Instead of doing what he usually would have done, he let Steve hug him. Tony felt out of character, like he was just watching from afar as he rested his head on Steve's shoulder, the tears burning at his eyes now. Why was he getting emotional? Why wasn't he hating Steve for what he did to him?

But they had both done things. The accords had driven them apart. Two years had passed.

Tony surprised himself by wrapping his arms around Steve, sighing as Steve began to speak.

"I'm sorry. I'm so- I-"

"I know." Tony cut him off, closing his eyes. "It's not just your fault, y'know. I'm sorry, too."

"So you called because you missed me?" Tony could tell Steve was smiling, his tone joking.

"Course, Capsicle."

**Author's Note:**

> so, there we go
> 
> thanks for taking the time to read! please leave some criticism, things you liked, anything!  
> i may make a series of stony friendship/ship one shots.. so if anyone has any ideas, also let me know!
> 
> again, thanks for reading :)


End file.
